The Hon Stephen Smith mp

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Statement

Australia-Russia civil nuclear cooperation agreement

The Australia-Russia civil nuclear cooperation agreement was
signed in September 2007 and tabled in Parliament on 14 May
2008.

The Agreement is currently before the Parliamentary Joint
Standing Committee on Treaties. The Committee will
conduct a further public hearing on the Agreement in Canberra
this morning.

The Agreement meets all of Australia’s long-standing
safeguards requirements and promotes the highest international
standards in this area. The agreement opens up
opportunities for Australia and Russia on nuclear
non-proliferation matters generally and would help consolidate
Australia’s position as a reliable, secure supplier of
energy resources.

Once the Committee has reported on the Agreement, the
Government will make a final decision on ratification at an
appropriate time.

When considering ratification the Government will take into
account recent and on going events in Georgia and
Australia’s bilateral relationship with Russia.